The Telangana government has announced that it will administer the Covid-19 vaccine to as many as 80 lakh people in the first phase of the state's vaccination drive.
The state's heath officials said that they would aim to start the vaccination process by Pongal.
Initially about 5 lakh people will be vaccinated, where priority will be given to those most vulnerable to the virus, including frontline workers like the state's health and police officials, and sanitation workers.
"The immunisation drive will be carried out in a phased manner, where 5 lakh people will be immunised against the virus in the first phase over eight to ten days. The second phase will be launched in the month after that," Public Health Director G Srinivas Rao said.
Speaking on the matter after visiting the Tilak Nagar PHC to inspect the dry run of the Covid-19 vaccine, Hyderabad District Medical Health Officer J Venkati explained that the exercise was being conducted to prepare the health workers in the state for the upcoming vaccination drive.
"We hope to be able to find field-level issues and difficulties in the vaccination process, so that they can be fixed ahead of the final state-wide vaccination drive. As per the instructions of the Centre, the state government has been working to ensure that the coronavirus vaccine can be administered to the people of Telangana in a smooth and hassle-free manner. We are making all the requisite arrangements for the same on a war footing," Venkati said.
Apart from conducting the mandatory dry run, the government has also
trained 10,000 health workers to administer the vaccine.